There are several options for colon cancer screening tools and different ways to prep for these tests. There are colonoscopies, fecal tests and tests that look for blood in the stool. There are also different liquids and pills designed to prep people for these tests.
But Dr. Janice Cheong, speaking Oct. 12 at the 2025 Hair and Health Symposium at the Edergerton R-Center, emphasized that the most important thing is that people just get screened.
“The best screening test is the one that gets done,” Dr. Cheong said. “Screening can save lives because we can find polyps before they become colon cancer.”
Dr. Cheong is a gastroenterologist and a hepatologist—a doctor of the digestive tract, the liver and other internal organs. She said smoking, drinking alcohol and eating red and processed meats can increase a person’s risk of colon cancer. Black men in Rochester are at the highest risk locally of colon cancer, she said, adding that several ZIP codes in Rochester have the lowest screening rates.
People at average risk should start colon cancer screening regularly at age 45. Those with a family history of colon cancer should start screening at age 40 or 10 years younger than the youngest relative with colon cancer, whichever is earlier.
Knowing your family’s cancer history is important, as colon cancer has been linked to ovarian cancer and breast cancer.
“The main thing I want to leave you with is that colon cancer is preventable,” Dr. Cheong said. “We find that polyp, and we take that out.”
The free event was presented by Common Ground Health and the Get it Done initiative, which trains barbers and stylists as Community Health Educators. Several barbers and stylists spoke about their work promoting better health outcomes. They offer health education, make referrals, stock naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses, and share clothing and food with customers and community members.
Keynote speaker Wade Norwood, CEO of Common Ground Health, spoke about hair equity and his family’s hair styles over the years using the theme "Black Royalty: Your Hair is Your Crown." Norwood shared information about the Crown Act, a bill that bars employment discrimination due to hair style. New York has passed a version of the Crown Act, but he noted that a federal law preventing such discrimination has not been enacted.